Fodor's may use your email address to send you relevant information on site updates, account changes, and offers. For more information about your privacy and protection, please review our full Privacy Policy.

What is general airline policy re: changing dates or cancellation?

We are planning a 2 week trip to France from USA the end of June.
Our concern is the possibility of needing to either cancel or change dates on our trip.
Sadly, we have a loved one with a serious illness. We hope that she'll be okay during our trip - but, should her condition worsen, we will either not travel - or change our plans and travel at a later date this summer. We don't want to lose all of our airfare.
Has anyone had any experience like this?

The general policy is that you can cancel a ticket and reuse it up to 1 year. When you re-book you pay a change fee and any increase in fare. The amount of the fee and terms and conditions of the change depends on the airline. It's better to go to the source for this type of question.

It depends on the type of ticket you booked originally, but typically people book discount/sale tickets which aren't as flexible as a full fare ticket. International change fee is usually around $250 plus any difference in fare, but you need to check your airline for the type of ticket you purchased.

What Adrienne has posted is correct probably and generally. We had this dilemma for a trip--and my husband's brother did sadly pass while we were gone. If this person is so close to you, and you cannot be gone if the ultimate happens, then I suggest you change your plans. It could be a very very significant difference in price. I will say that we were dealing with multiple fares (8 people), could not change our plans, said our sad goodbyes. I think you have to decide your situation.

You might look into purchasing trip insurance. Many companies waive limits on pre-existing conditions if you purchase the coverage within 2 or 3 weeks of making your initial trip deposit, and you can also purchase "cancel for any reason" coverage. The cost of coverage will depend on your age and the nonrefundable costs of your trip. You can compare the cost of policies at tripinsurancestore.com and similar sites. I don't buy insurance for every trip, but when there is a significant penalty for cancellation, I think that the peace of mind is worth the cost.